The CESEE Bank Lending Survey

The Central Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (CESEE) Bank Lending Survey is a biannual survey covering around 15 international banking groups and 85 local subsidiaries or independent local banks. Together these make up more than 50% of banking assets in most countries. The countries covered are: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.

The survey is a unique instrument for monitoring banking sector trends and challenges in CESEE. It contributes to the monitoring and understanding of cross-border banking activities, deleveraging and the drivers and constraints influencing credit growth. It provides some forward-looking insights into cross-border banks’ strategies and market expectations. It complements domestic bank lending surveys by adding the value of comparability across countries and the unique feature of specifically addressing the parent/subsidiary nexus.

The survey was developed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) in the context of the Vienna Initiative 2.0 and is managed by the EIB. It is addressed to senior officials of the banks involved and is conducted in March and in September.